EC New Home Saga: Fidgeting Pradip Karia Cuts his Wetland Value from UGX111BN to UGX75Bn, Security Condemns it

The big man in President Museveni’s backyard and the Indian he is briskly marketing to sell a wetland to the Electoral Commission (EC) are panicking, following our exclusive story busting the `organized robbery` in offing.

Meticulous news landing on our investigative desk indicates how the vendors have since cut the price from the staggering UGX111Bn to a limping UGX75Bn, all in the name of selling to government, the useless piece of land.

We know that the vendor, an Indian of Property Services known as Pradip Karia, whom we already reported to be partnering with a close First Family member, is cutting the price nearly by a half, desperately looking to hurriedly get rid of the inoperable wetland.

The vendors are also believed to be dangling a fat bribe in the region of UGX29Bn to some senior EC managers, behind the Chairman, Justice Simon Byabakama Mugenyi`s back. Our pries unearthed how the top man is completely unaware of the deals his subordinates are cutting with the vendors.

According to insider sources, the big people at EC demanding for a bribe have already written a commission agreement where, they are waiting to receive the said sums in case the deal goes through their route.

However, it seems too bad for them. We have gathered how security has since picked big interest in our investigative probe and commenced parallel investigations which are wide-ranging. The probe is understood to be targeting the IGG as well as the Government Chief Valuer.

The Bweyogerere Building which the mafia is underrating

These ones are reported to be feverishly assisting the Indian to crookedly push through the deal. Well, hold on a bit, we are going to deeply explain later in these pages how the two government officials are going about doing this later.

“They want, of course with help of the mafia you mentioned already, to cut their losses and run. Let me assure you…., they can run and hide…. but they cannot escape our dragnet,” a senior intelligence officer assigned to explore this matter, jokingly told us.

Thank Heavens, the big man himself, President Yoweri Museveni is closely following what is going on. He has written already, counseling that pursuit of the wetland be dropped. Museveni is of the view that alternative land belonging to a senior consultant physician, Dr Godfrey Lule, be purchased instead.

We have visited Lule’s land as well. It is located in Kakajjo-Bweyogerere in the vicinity of UNBS offices. It has a prime, storied as well as spacious building sitting on six acres, which the 79-year-old physician built to accommodate a hospital. The land is completely dry as opposed to the wet one being marketed by Karia and his big man in Museveni’s courtyard.

Lule`s land is connected to several tarmacked roads. One can access the land from either Namugongo area, Seeta, Bweyogerere, Kireka and or from Ntinda, among others.

Security observes that apart from being a wetland, as per a comprehensive report authored by NEMA, Karia`s marshland is inaccessible. Let us be a lot much clearer… neither does the land has access to the sea nor to the land. This comes with very, very huge security dilemmas.

EC is a very delicate body being the manager of elections. Commonsense, even without putting into security considerations, would demand that it’s positioned in a very secure location with ample exit routes which can be used to evacuate its officials and material, just in case of attack.

Contrary to the suitability of Lule’s building, the people promoting the wetland have been running a negative campaign dismissing it as not only inferior, but also a smaller facility! They have been doing this by using computer-manipulated photos depicting an inferior building. But this, even by looking at the real pictures, is not the case.

Wetland Dirties IGG

Following our expose regarding this saga, the people promoting the wetland are assumed to have contacted the IGG, Betty Olive Namisango Kamya Turomwe (BONKT). Purpose of the visit? To desperately try to twist the clearer-than-day NEMA report which declared what Pradip is selling, to be a wetland, gazetted to construct a waste management plant.

Never mind that Pradip went ahead and constructed a school known as GEMS International on the wetland. The Indian is now scheming to get away with that noticeable illegality by blinding EC into buying the property!

In an April 20, 222 letter, Kamya writes to the Executive Director of NEMA seeking to reopen the closed matter. This stance we believe so, since NEMA had already carried out assessment of the land in 2019 and declared it a wetland. This would therefore sound suspicious for a mere politician in Kamya to interfere with such a technical report.

Pradip`s GEM School sitting on the Butabika wetland

This is another reason security is investigating the motive of Kamya as far as reopening the already closed matter is concerned, and at a time when the owner of the wetland, is forcing it down the throats of EC.

Enter the Chief Valuer

Out of the blue, the Government Chief Valuer departs from his original UGX111Bn to UGX75Bn Report! Security believes that as the sellers of the wetland up their game, they might have brought the government chief valuer`s office on board.

The world over, land is known for appreciation and not depreciation. However, in this case, the valuer miraculously finds Karia`s land value terribly scampering down like a pack of cards, from a staggering UGX111Bn a few weeks ago, to a limping UGX75Bn now!

The objective of the fresh valuation report was, of course, to induce `government` to pay for the wetland just like the vendors are praying, in order to get rid of the marshland. This calls to mind, how today`s Chief Valuer`s predecessor, Moses Kituuma Magala wound up being fired for messing up the prices of USAFI market.

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Stephen Kasozi Muwambi: Mr. Stephen Kasozi Muwambi is a seasoned crime investigative writer, majoring in judicial-based stories. His two decades’ experience as a senior investigative journalist has made him one of the best to reckon on in Uganda. He can also be reached via [email protected]